Faster running for busy adults, built to last.
I’ve run every single day since 30 November 2015. Not a rest day, not a missed one. Through a full time job, through bad weather, and through surgery, after which I came back and ran 15:40 at parkrun. That’s the bit I actually coach: not just how to get fast, but how to keep running while life carries on around you.
I’m Gareth Cooke. I went from a four hour marathoner to 2:24:35 while working full time, I’ve been a qualified personal trainer since 2010, and I still race with Barnsley AC. I coach online, so it doesn’t matter where you are.
The runners I work best with are working, busy, already putting in 20 to 40 miles a week, and stuck just short of a number. Sub 3:30. Sub 3. Sub 90. Sub 20. If that’s you, I won’t hand you a plan off a shelf and wish you luck. Every session is built around your week and rewritten when life gets in the way, because it will. Work, kids, illness, a bad night’s sleep. That’s the job.
Whichever option you pick, we start with a proper conversation about where you are now and what you actually want. Email, WhatsApp or a phone call, whatever suits you.
Why work with me
- 2:24:35 marathon, run while working full time, from a four hour start
- An unbroken daily running streak since 30 November 2015
- Back from surgery to a 15:40 parkrun, so I know what a comeback takes
- Qualified personal trainer since 2010, with a full strength programme included in Premium
- Still racing with Barnsley AC, not a coach who stopped ten years ago
- Athletes coached to marathons of 2:37:14, 2:49:17 on debut, 2:52:35 and 2:59:18, a 3:15:47 at 57, a 37:17 10k and an 18:23 parkrun
How it works
From first message to race day
- A free chatFill in the enquiry form or message me. We talk through your running, your week and the number you’re chasing. No obligation.
- Your training, on your watchI write your plan week by week around the days you can actually run, at paces built from your own recent times. Every session is set in TrainingPeaks and synced straight to your watch, so you just press start and follow it.
- Adjusted as life happensIll, busy, niggle, bad night’s sleep? Message me on WhatsApp and the week gets rewritten. Then we plan your pacing, race and taper together.
- Minimum 3 month commitment
- A weekly training plan written around your life, not a template
- Every run and session set in TrainingPeaks and synced straight to your watch, so you just press start and follow it
- WhatsApp access, so I’m only ever a message away
- Pacing and intensity guidance for every session
- Race planning, pacing strategy and taper
- Someone holding you to the sessions that matter most
- Minimum 3 month commitment
- Everything in Standard, including sessions synced to your watch, plus:
- A booked call with me every month
- Full analysis of your running data between calls
- Running form analysis and the corrective work that follows it, revisited each block (£60 on its own)
- A full periodised strength programme, progressed alongside your running
- Priority response, whenever you need it
Premium bundles in a running form analysis (£60 on its own) and a full periodised strength programme (my standalone S&C plan is £30), both revisited each block, for £40 a month more than Standard.
Not ready for month to month coaching? I also build one off personalised plans for 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon at £39, built on your own paces, and a running form analysis at £60 that tells you exactly what your stride is doing and what to do about it.
App, plan or coach?
Which one do you actually need?
| Training apparound £16 a month | Personalised plan£39 once | 1:1 coachingfrom £80 a month | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paces set from | An algorithm and your inputs | Your own race times, by me | Your times, then your training week to week |
| On your watch | Yes | PDF you follow | Every session in TrainingPeaks, synced to your watch |
| When life gets in the way | The app reshuffles itself | Fixed plan, you adapt it | I rewrite the week |
| Someone who knows you | No | Email me any time | WhatsApp, and Premium adds a monthly call |
| Strength work | Generic, if any | Add the S&C plan, £20 bundled | Full programme in Premium |
| Race day | Generic taper | Taper written in | Pacing plan, race strategy and taper |
An app is fine if you just want some structure. If you want paces from your own times, get a plan. If you want someone changing it when life happens, and in the corner when a block goes quiet, that’s coaching.
Free tool
What could you run off your current fitness?
Put in a recent race and get predicted times from 5K to marathon, plus your seven training paces from recovery to reps. Free, and it takes about a minute.
Recovery / Easy / Steady / Marathon / Threshold / Interval / Reps
Who you’re working with
Plans are managed by me and my partner, Naomi Drakeford. I’ve gone from a four hour marathon to 2:24:35, I’m a multiple race winner, and I’m out there in the running scene week in, week out.
Naomi has run 2:46 for the marathon, wins races regularly, and is permanent competition in our house over who’s the higher performer. She’s raced across triathlon and swimming too, from the Ironman World Championships to Olympic distance Worlds. Like me, she’s been working in the industry since 2010, with a real depth of experience across triathlon, swimming and running performance.
Athletes I coach
2:59:18 marathon
Scott
2:52:35 marathon
Came to me in September 2024 with a marathon best of 2:58:52. Through that winter he took the half down to 79:06 at Brass Monkey and ran 36:09 for 10k at Dewsbury, then went to Boston and came home in 2:52:35. Over six minutes quicker than he had ever run. After the inevitable post-marathon flat spell he came back and took the half to 1:17:37 at Manchester.
Keiron, coached athlete
2:37:14 marathon
Injury prone, and every block is a balance between doing enough volume and tipping him over the edge. Get that balance right and this is what happens: a half marathon best of 1:11:03, a win at the Coventry Half in early 2026, and 2:37:14 in Latvia that May.
Alex, coached athlete
Questions runners ask me before they start
Do I need to be fast already to work with you?
No. Most of the runners I coach are working, busy and running somewhere between 20 and 40 miles a week, stuck just short of a number. If you’re further back than that, a personalised plan at £39 is a good place to start, and you can move across to coaching whenever you’re ready.
How many days a week will I need to train?
As many as your life genuinely allows. Every plan is written around the days you can actually train, at paces built from your own recent times. Tell me the week you’ve got and I’ll build the training around it, not the other way round.
What happens if I get ill, injured or life gets in the way?
The plan gets rewritten. Work, kids, illness and a bad night’s sleep are all part of the job, and I’d rather adjust a week than have you force a session you shouldn’t. Drop me a message on WhatsApp and we’ll sort it.
Why is there a three month minimum?
Because one month isn’t long enough for a block of training to do its job. Three months gives us time to build the fitness, see it show up in your sessions, and race off the back of it.
Do you only coach runners in Yorkshire?
No. Coaching is fully online, so it doesn’t matter where you live. I’m based in Barnsley and race with Barnsley AC, but the runners I coach have raced everywhere from Manchester to Berlin and Riga.
Standard or Premium, which should I pick?
Standard covers everything you need to train well: a weekly plan written for you, WhatsApp access, pacing guidance and race planning. Premium suits you if injury has held you back or you want the strength side handled properly, because it adds a monthly call, full data analysis, running form analysis and a periodised strength programme. If you’re not sure, ask me and I’ll tell you honestly.
How do I get started?
Pick a tier above or send me a message below. We start with a free conversation by email, WhatsApp or a phone call about where you are now and what you’re chasing. No obligation, and if I’m not the right coach for you, I’ll say so.
Got a question first?
Drop me a message below, or email me directly at gareth@therunningmaninblue.co.uk. No pressure and no hard sell. If I’m not the right coach for you, I’ll tell you.